LinkedIn deletes 14-year-old SpaceX engineer's account because of his age
"This is the illogical, primitive nonsense that I face constantly."
A recent graduate from Santa Clara University working for SpaceX has been booted off LinkedIn due to his age.
Kairan Quazi is 14 years old and has just landed one of the most prestigious jobs in his field, heading to work as an engineer for SpaceX.
However, not even being qualified to land a gig with Elon Musk's space company seemed enough for LinkedIn to revise their age restrictions when it comes to joining the professional networking platform.
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Kairan has been unceremoniously kicked out of the social channel, receiving a message explaining the decision was due to him only being 14.
For LinkedIn, the minimum age to join is 16, so it seems that Kairan will have to wait a couple of years before networking with his peers on the online platform - despite having one of the most sought-after jobs in engineering these days.
After receiving a message from LinkedIn in which he was notified of his account cancellation, an incredulous Kairan took to Twitter to voice his frustration.
As a young professional, he explained, he's met with this kind of 'illogical, primitive nonsense' constantly.
"@linkedin just sent me this notice that they are deleting my account because I'm not 16," the engineer wrote alongside a screengrab of the message LinkedIn had sent him.
"This is the illogical, primitive nonsense that I face constantly," he continued.
"I can be qualified enough to land one of the most coveted engineering jobs in the world but not qualified enough to have access to a professional social media platform that's critical to my career path?
"@LinkedIn showing everyone how regressive some tech company policies are."
But Kairan isn't willing to let go, concluding his tweet with a request to speak to a 'decision maker' at the company who may help to resolve the issue.
In their original message, LinkedIn praised Kairan's enthusiasm, but pointed out that their policy couldn't be skirted.
"We're excited by your enthusiasm, energy and focus. We can't wait to see what you do in the world," the message received by the engineer reads.
"LinkedIn has a minimum age requirement of 16 years of age for all members. Because you currently do not meet the age eligibility criteria to join, we have restricted your account.
"You are welcome back on the platform once you turn 16 or older."
The social networking site explained they had refunded Kairan for any charges for his premium subscription.
A LinkedIn spokesperson told UNILAD: "We appreciate his enthusiasm to join LinkedIn and applaud his incredible success, however we have an age limit in place of 16 yrs of age and that extends to all members."
Stefania Sarrubba